KUCHING: Malaysians are generally fed up with politicians because of the way they have been behaving, says former Sabah chief minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.
He said, by and large, the people were not only confused by the happenings in the country but were truly fed up with politicians.
“Why is that so? Mainly because of how we function, practise, do things as politicians,” the Warisan president said in an interview with The Vibes.
He said the country seemed to be in an environment resembling mayhem, a state of confusion.
“There is an increasing tendency of political people to simply use the phrase ‘in the interest of the country and the people’. I ask whether this is all just sweet talk and lip service, and whether they really mean it.
“This is why millions of Malaysians today are fed up: not only are they confused, they seemed to be saying: “What are these guys doing?”
Shafie said the fact of the matter was the mandate of the people in the last election was taken away.
“Yet those who were responsible for this were today asking for help from people like him, who had been wronged. Are these the values we have in life?”
He said the Sheraton Move shattered the hopes of millions of people who had invested their effort, their money and sweat to ensure that there was a change in the government of the day after the 60-plus years of the Umno-led Barisan Nasional administration toppled.
“They travelled home from as far as the United States and Australia; came back home to ensure we could unwind the system we had previously. And the moment that was done, the Sheraton Move happened.”
Shafie, a former Umno vice-president, blamed the tussle between former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his former deputy Anwar as the root cause.
He said there were several individuals from Pakatan Harapan, particularly PKR and DAP, who were openly calling for Dr Mahathir to “go, step down”.
Yet the moment Dr Mahathir stepped down these very people got angry and asked: “Why did he resign?”
